IN MY LADY'S GARDEN 



amount of air. They are, as a rule, natives of the upper 

 ridges of the Andes, and may also be found on the Nilgiris 

 and in Java. Cheilanthes elegans (syn. myriophylla) is one 

 of the best for the greenhouse, with exquisitely delicate fronds 

 about 6 inches in length ; these fronds must not be allowed 

 to touch other things, or they will shrivel away. The same 

 thing happens when many of the more tender ferns are too 

 much crowded, notably those which are covered with yellow 

 or white powder, giving them the title of gold or silver 

 ferns ; for if this powder, delicate as that on the butterfly's 

 wing, should be accidentally displaced, that part of the frond 

 which has lost its protection will quickly die away. Many 

 of the gold and silver ferns need greater warmth than is 

 usually to be found in a greenhouse, but there are a few 

 which will do well without more heat than a minimum 

 temperature of 50 ; some of the gymnogrammas being 

 specially manageable, and also very beautiful. Gymnogramma 

 chrysophylla grandiceps has tasselled fronds, and G. tartarea 

 ochracea is one of the most hardy of these gold ferns, which 

 reproduces itself freely from spores, and can even be grown 

 in a room, for it enjoys a rather dry atmosphere, with 

 plenty of light and also of air, without a sharp draught, 

 however. 



The silver fern, G. tartarea, is equally amenable, and the 

 exquisitely cut fronds of G. schyzophylla gloriosa, one of 

 the loveliest of all, can be grown with it in the greenhouse, 

 although it is scarcely a desirable fern for a room, as it is a 

 veritable touch-me-not plant, its lace-like fronds shrivelling 

 with the slightest injury. These charming ferns do well if 

 allowed a position in a warm greenhouse separate from 

 other plants, with plenty of elbow room, so to speak ; a 

 board covered with ashes (which should always be kept 

 moist, as well as the soil in the pots) should be placed on 

 the stage over the hot-water pipes, and no syringing must 

 reach their fronds at any time. G. schyzophylla gloriosa 

 produces young plants on the tips of its long fronds, and 

 these can be pegged down into small pots of peat, chopped 

 sphagnum moss, sand, and charcoal, when they will quickly 



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